Nut-tapping machine



Patented' Feb. 14,1899. anun-HAM. NUT TAPPING MACHINE.

(Application Bled Apr. 12, 1898.)`

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G. DUNHAM. NUT T'APPING MACHINE.

(Application led Apr. A12, 1898.)

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No. s|9,54a. l 'Paten-fed Feb. |4,1|g99. Y s. nummm.

MUT TAPPING MACHINE.

(Applimion 'mea Apr. 12, 1899,)

(No model.) I* 4 Sheets-Sh'eet 3.

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9., DURHAM. NUT TAPPlNG-M-AGHINE.

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' UNITED STATES y PATENT OFFICE.,l

NUT-TAPPIN G MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming primaV or Letters? Appnanol nea Iprn 12, 189s.

To a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known thatI, GEORGE DUNII'AM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Unionville, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nut-Tapping Machines, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in machines for tapping nuts; and the objects of my improvements are simplicity of construction and efficiency in the machine, especially with reference to holding the nut firmly on its seat and in supporting the tap.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my machine. Fig. 2 is afront elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the left-hand end of said machine. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view, partly in elevation, of a portion of my machine, the plane of section being vertical and in alinement with the axis of the tap. Fig. 5 is a4 sectional elevation of portions of my machine on the line a: of Fig. 2, said figure being on the same scale as Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of parts of my machine on the line y y of Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a sectional side elevation showing the lever and cam for operating the nut clamp or holder.

The driving-shaft A, Fig. 1, is provided with fast and -loose pulleys 8 and 9, upon which to run the driving-belt. Said shaft carries a pinion 10, that engages la gear-wheel 11, the said wheel carrying a pinion 12, that engages and drives the gear-wheel 13 of the cam-shaft 14. The driving-shaft A also carries a gear-wheel15, that engages and drives the pinion 16 on the spindle 17, that carries the tap 18. The said spindle 17 is mounted to slide longitudinally as well as to revolve, and in so sliding the teeth of the gear and pinion 15 and 16 may slip lengthwise of each other. A swinging lever 19 is pivoted to the frame of the machine, and its forked upper end is connected with a collar 2O on theend of thespindle 17. Said lever is moved in one direction by means of a weight 21, connected with said lever by a cord 22, that passes over a pulley 23. The said lever 19 is also provided with a short arm carrying a roller 24, that is engaged by a cam 25 on the cam-shaft 14 to move said lever in the direcatent No. 619,548, dated February 14, 1899.

seria No. 677,307. (No man.)

tion to lift the said weight. The forward incline of the cam 2 5 is followed by a straight face, so that the lever does not move in either direction when said straight face of the cam and the said roller are in engagement with each other. Said straight face is followed by a let-off incline to permit the weight to move the lever. v

Upon the chuck or tap holder 27 of the tapping-spindle there is a sliding frame 26, which is free to slide a given distance and limited in said sliding movement byits heads and the ends of the head or tapping-chuck 27. It is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as at one end of its stroke, and is therefore free to slide toward the right until its left-hand end is in contact with the left-hand end of the chuck 27 Upon the frame ofthe machine or other fixed support a trip-lever 28 is pivoted, as at 29, with one end in the range of the sliding frame 26, but just out of reach of said frame when at the limit of its movement to the left on the spindle, as'shown, but close enough to be in the path of said frame when said frame is shifted to the right relatively to the spindle.

A shipper-lever 30 is fixed on the rock-shaft 31. On the other end of said rock-shaft is an arm 302, that is provided with a roller 32. The frame of the machine is also provided with a roller-bracket 33 and roller 34 on Lone side of the rock-shaft arm 3OfL and with a roller-bracket 35 and roller 36 on the other side of said arm. Underneath the outer end of the trip-lever there is a Xed bracket-hook 37. A release-cord 40 has attached to one end an eye or ring 41, which is slipped loosely upon the bracket-hook, said cord passing under the roller 32, around the roller 34 on the left-hand roller-bracket 33 to the lower end of the rock-shaft arm 30a, to which the opposite end of the cord 40 is secured. Another cord 39 has one end secured to the lower end 'of the rock-shaft arm, passes over the roller 36 of the right-hand roller-bracket' 35, and has its other end secured to'the weight 38. The cord40 is of such length that when arranged as shown the shipper-lever is held with its upper end in position to keep the driving-belt (not shown) on the fast pulley 8, and the weight 38 merely acts to keep the cords taut so long as the eye 41 remains on the bracket-hook 37 ICO At the end of the machine that is opposite from the tapping-spindle, duc., is the workholding frame or vertical bed 42, in the center of which is a perforated nut-rest or block 43, of hardened steel. (See Figs. 4 and 6.) In alinement with the tapping-spindle and hole through the nut-rest there are a follower support or guide 44 and sliding follower 45. The end of the tap 18 is pointed, and the end of the follower has a female center to fit the said point, asshown in Fig. 4. The follower is so fitted that it may be and is at times extended so as to project its end beyond the face of the nut-rest. nut-rest I place the fixed holding-jaws 46, preferably made vertically adjustable, which jaws I provide with extensions 47, with their confronting faces near their outer ends beveled olf on parallel inclines, as at 48, Figs. 2 and 5. In front of the nut-rest and holdingjaws is the nut-stop 49. Back of the nutrest are the nut-conveyer 50 and conveyerslide 51, and on the side of the conveyer that faces the tapping-spindle is the nut holder or clamp 52, the front end of which clamp is slotted, so that it can straddle the tap. The said conveyer and clamp are pivoted on the conveyer-slide, as at 53, so as to swing slightly to and from the nut-rest longitudinally of the tap in addition to sliding back and forth from front to rear on the conveyer-slide. The said conveyer-slide is reciprocated by the conveyer-lever and cam 55 on the cam-shaft 14.

` The said level' 54 is pivoted to a bracket 56 on the bolt or pivot 57 and is connected with the conveyer-slide by means of a link 58. Said lever is provided on the upper side of its pivot 57 with an arm 59, which engages the edge of a Aside projection on the cam 55, (the contour of said projection behind the cam being indicated by broken lines in Fig. 5 and partially shown in full lines in Fig. 3,) while the arm 60 on the lower side of the pivot 57 engages the edge of said cam. In Fig. 5 the cam is shown as pressing back the upper arm 59, while the lower arm GO is sliding down into the depression of the cam to permit the upper end of the lever to be thus thrown back. The parts in this view are at the middle of their rearward stroke. When the incline at the other end of the depression in the edge of the cam 55 engages the lower arm 60 of the conveyer-lever 54, the said lever and conveyer will be forced forward.

To the left of the conveyer-slide a presserlever (52 is pivoted in suitable supports on the bolt or axle G1. The upper end of said lever is made wide and provided with a slot or ways G3. Within these ways is one end of the tie 64, the other end of which tie is secured to the conveyer in such manner that the tie is carried bodily with the conveyer in the longitudinal movement of said conveyer, the ways G3 permitting the tie to so move. The lower end of the presser-lever is provided with a bracket or ledge G5 for confining a spring 7l between it and the lug 6G of the machine,

Above and below the sublever 68, the upper end of which is yieldingly connected with the presser-lever by a strong spring 69. The lower end of the sublever is acted upon by a cam on the camshaft 14 to move the sublever and lower end of the presser-lever to the right, while the spring 71 forces that end of said lever and sublever to the left in opposition to said cam.

The sliding follower 45 for the tap 18 is connected by its outer end through a link to the follower-lever 72, which is fixed on the rockshaft 73. A cord or chain 74 is secured by one end to said lever, extends over the pulley 7 5, and has a weight 76 secured to its other end, said weight having a tendency to always force the follower toward the tap. In order, however, to insure a positive movement of the follower at every revolution of the cam-shaft 14, I provide the cam 77, which, acting on the arm 83 of the follower-lever 74, will press the follower positively forward and to such an extent as to project its end beyond the face of the nut-rest. As soon as the highest point of the cam 77 passes the arm 83 the confronting cam 7S acts on said arm to withdraw the projecting end of the follower to a point about liush with the face of the nut-rest, as shown in Fig.4, in which position the cams hold the follower for a short time and then release it, so as to be held only by the weight, and hence free to be pushed back by the tap.

It is preferable to have the throw of the conveyer-lever 54 adjustable, and therefore I pivot the upper arm 59 thereof on the pivot 79 and regulate its swinging movement on said pivot by means of the set-screw 80. `(See Fig. 3;) The lower arm I adjust longitudinally by means of its slot-and-bolt connection 8l and the set-screw 82. The fixed holding-jaws are also adj ustable by means of an ordinary slotand-bolt connection and set-screws, all of which are too well known to require detailed description. Other parts are or may be adj ustable in any ordinary manner, and I have not deemed it necessary to specifically refer to their adj ustability.

With the parts properly adj usted and the cams properly timed the `nut holder or clamp will be free from pressure at a time when it and the conveyer are drawn to the rear, so that a nut may be dropped in between the nut-holder and confronting face of the frame 42 and in front of the conveyer 50. The nuts may be fed from any ordinary hopper or chute, '(not shown,) or they may be fed in by hand. The tap-spindle will also be moved to the right, so that the tap is out of the way of the nut and conveyer. The conveyer-slide and connected parts are then moved forward by the cam and leverbefore described to carry the nut into position on the nut-rest 43, and the tapping-spindle is moved longitudinally IOO IIO

to present the tap to the nut. The presserlever 62 is about this time acted on by the cam and interposed spring 69 to draw the nut holder or clamp toward the nut and hold it squarely on the nut-rest. If the nut is thick enough to prevent the lever 62 from making a -full stroke, the said lever will stop and the sublever 68 will swing on its pivot 67 a little, compressing the spring 69, substantially as shown in Fig. 7, so that the nut will be pressed against the nut-rest with all the force of the spring 69. In other words, the lever 62 and sublever 68 are moved bodily together by the cam as if in one piece when there is but little or nol resistance to their movement; but when the movement of the lever 62 is obstructed-as, for example, by a nut-then the spring yields, and the further action of the cam, if any, only moves the sublever and holds the presser-lever to its work. As the tap enters the nut its end enters the female center in the end of the follower, so as to center and support the tap. The holdingjaws 46 act as means to prevent the nut from rotating with the tap. The said jaws and conveyer, as shown, are adapted for hexagonal nuts, and the nuts are fed in with their upper and lower edges in a horizontal position or, in other words, with their shorter diameter extending vertically. The continued longitudinal movement of the tap and tapping-spindle presses the follower back, the weight 76 permitting the said follower to yield, and at the same time said weight holdsthe said follower to its work. The weight 2l must be heavy enough to move the tapping-spindle, tap, follower, and weight 76 at the start and until the tap has well entered the nut, after which the thread of the tap will draw the tap and spindle along, and the weight 2l may, if desired, come to a rest and slacken its cord, as illustrated in Fig. 1. When the tap has completed or nearly completed the Work of threading the nut,the nut-holder is released and,with the conveyer, it is moved to the rear ready to receive another nut. The cam 25 acts to withdraw the tap-spindle and tap, lifting the weight 2l as said spindle moves to the right. The weight 76 will press the follower in the same direction, and its action is supplemented by the cam, which, as before described, projects the end of the follower beyond the face of the nut-rest, so that if the tap breaks off in the nut or the like the nut, with the broken tap in it, will be projected so far as to fall from the machine and out of the way of the succeeding nut. When the tap withdraws, the nut is still on it and the extensions 47 of the jaws still act to keep the nut from rotating, so that the tapping, if not completed, may be finished while the tap is being withdrawn. After the threading of the .nut is completed the nut slides upon the shank thereof, which is turned down below the bottom of the threads in an ordinary manner, so that the nuts may slide loosely on said shank. An-

other nut is placed in front of the conveyer and back of the clamp or nut-holder and the operation before described repeated. When the nuts work back of the threads on the tap and outside of the jaw extensions 47, they often turn a partial revolution, so that their longer diameter is vertical instead of horizontal, as before. In that case when the nuts so turned present themselves again to the jaw extensions 47 with the forward movement of the tap they engage the beveled corners 48 of said extension and in riding over said beveled corners are turned a partial revolution to bring their top and bottom edges again horizontal. In the regular longitudinal stroke of the tapping-spindle the end of the sliding frame will not actuate the trip-lever; but when the shank of the tap becomes so loaded with nuts as to hold the sliding frame to the right on the chuck the said frame is pressed against said trip-lever with force enough to move said lever and knock the eye 41 oif from the bracket-hook 37, whereby the shipper-lever 30 is released to the action of the weight 38 to shift the driving-belt onto the loose pulley 9 and stop the machine. The attendant then removes the tap, unloads it, replaces it in the machine, and, throwing the shipperlever to move the belt onto the fast pulley again, he fastens the shipper-lever by replacing the eye 4l on the bracket-hook 37, andvl the machine may run as before until the tap is again full of nuts and trips the shipper.

It is apparent that some changes from the speciiic construction herein described may be made, and therefore I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise form ofconstruction shown and described, but dea sire the libertyto make such changes in working my invention as fairly come within the `spirit and scope of the same.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination of the longitudinallysliding tap-spindle and tap with a xed nutrest against which the broad side of the nut rests when being tapped and the fixed holding-jaws having extensions in the longitudinal direction of the tap, the confronting faces of said extensions projecting from the holding portion of said jaws having the beveled corners 48 at the outer ends of said extensions for turning the idle nuts on the tap when it moves forward for tapping a nut on said rest, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a tap with the nutrest, means for holding the nut against rotating, the swinging nut holder or clamp and mechanism for forcing said clamp against the nut to hold it squarely on the nut-rest, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the conveyer-slide, means for reciprocating said slide, the conveyer and nut holder or clamp mounted to swing on said slide, and means for forcing the said nut holder or clamp to its work after the conveyer delivers a nut, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the nut-rest, with IOO IIO

means for holding the nut against rotation, the nut holder or clamp, a cam for forcing said clamp against the nut to hold it squarely on the said nut-rest, and a yielding connecting mechanism between said cam and clamp, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the longitudinallysliding tap and tap-spindle, with the fixed nut-rest, the follower-guide, and a yielding follower having a female center in its end for centering and supporting the forward end of the tap when it is pushing the follower along,

substantially as described.

6. The combination of the longitudinallysliding tap and tap-spindle with the nut-rest, follower, a weighted lever for continually holding the follower to its Work, and a cam` acting at times on said lever to positively move the follower after each withdrawal of theV ing the end of the tap, a weight for continutapping-spindle, substantially asdescribed.

7. The combination of the longitudinallysliding spindle, the tap carried thereby, the weighted lever` acting to move said spindle and tap to its Work, a cam for acting on said lever to Withdraw said spindle and tap, and a yielding and sliding follower in the nutrest for supporting the end of the tap when threading the nut, substantially as described.

8. The combination of the longitudinallysliding spindle, the tap carried thereby, the weighted lever acting to move said spindle and tap to its work, a cam for acting on said lever to withdraw said spindle, a yielding and sliding follower for supporting the tap, and means for clamping the nut against the nutrest for being tapped, substantially as described.

9. The combination of the longitudinallysliding tap-spindle and tap with the nut-rest and the fixed holding-jaws having extensions in the longitudinal direction of the tap, and means for clamping the nut against the nutrest for tapping, substantially as described.

lO. The combination of the longitudinallysliding spindle,the tap carried thereby, means for reciprocating said spindle, a nut-rest and nut-holder, the sliding follower for supportally holding the follower to its work and a cam acting at times to `positively move the follower after each withdrawal of the tappingspindle, substantially as described.

GEORGE DUNHAM. Witnesses:

GEORGE E. TAFT, EDGAR G. DUNHAM. 

